Leadership Matters: Police Chief Race and Fatal Shootings by Police Officers

Abstract

Objective This study analyzes the relationship between the race of a city's police chief and the incidence of fatal shootings by police officers. Methods The Washington Post's “Fatal Force Database” is used to calculate per‐capita rates of fatal shootings by police officers occurring between January 1, 2015 and June 1, 2020 for the 100 largest cities in the United States. I compare fatal shooting rates for cities with police chiefs of different races, both unadjusted and adjusted for differences in city characteristics. Results Rates of fatal shootings by officers are almost 50 percent higher in cities with police forces led by white police chiefs than in cities with black police chiefs. Of the 30 cities with the highest rates of fatal shootings, 23 have police departments led by whites and only four have departments led by blacks, while of the 30 cities with the lowest rates, 16 have police departments led by blacks and only 11 are led by whites. Differences in fatal shooting rates persist after controlling for city characteristics. Conclusion Leaders in the highest position of authority may have a powerful effect on the culture of a police department and its resulting behavior.

Understanding Human Thoughts, Behaviors, and Social Influence to Counter Racial Discrimination

“…They also cautioned how such effects could be limited to low self-relevance from the majority group. In a similar vein, a study done by Steven Wu (2021) reported that cities with more Black officers at the leadership level were positively associated with lower per capita civilian death rates caused by officer shootings. Wu (2021) stated that this effect may be due to the cultural emphasis that Black police chiefs may put on deescalating civilian and officer encounters, thus demonstrating how diversity efforts can impact the racial prejudices of a majority group if the minority group appears to be powerful or expanding.…”

Police diversity and crime clearance for Black and Hispanic victims

“…As with greater minority representation among the police rank‐and‐file, the presence of minority police leaders, particularly minority chiefs of police, may have a significant symbolic impact on the general public's perception of police diversity. Minority leaders may also have the opportunity to advance procedural justice through formal organizational changes and the influence of their personal philosophies and leadership styles on their agency, as they likely have greater awareness of the minority community's needs and could substantially affect the attitude and behavior of officers under their command (Wu, 2020). Studies of police and nonpolice organizations support the notion that leaders can influence the performance of those under their authority (e.g., Bass et al., 2003; Wu, 2020).…”

Officer-involved deaths and the duty to intervene: assessing the impact of DTI policy in New York City, 2000–2019

“…Environmental factors include characteristics external to the officer, victim, or police department, including an area's level of concentrated disadvantage, firearm violence, and proportion of Black residents, as well as citywide racial segregation or officer-per-civilian ratio (White, 2002;Siegel et al, 2021). Organizationally, police departments with a Black chief report 50% lower rates of fatal shootings than similarly situated cities lead by white police chiefs (Wu, 2021). White's (2000White's ( , 2002 studies all show that use-of-force policies can curb uses of force, such as shootings, though other organizational factors, such as departmental leadership, may counteract the influence of the policy.…”

“…, 2021). Organizationally, police departments with a Black chief report 50% lower rates of fatal shootings than similarly situated cities lead by white police chiefs (Wu, 2021). White's (2000, 2002) studies all show that use-of-force policies can curb uses of force, such as shootings, though other organizational factors, such as departmental leadership, may counteract the influence of the policy.…”